Jesuit Father George Sullivan recognized God’s goodness toward him

“Grace upon grace.”

That’s how Jesuit Father George Russell Sullivan described God’s work in his life.

The former teacher and administrator at Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha – who also was a lawyer – died May 31 at the St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He was 82.

A funeral Mass will be offered June 27 at 11 a.m. in Wauwatosa. The Mass will be livestreamed through Becker Ritter Funeral Home in Brookfield, Wisconsin. His cremains will be buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Omaha.

A Memorial Mass will be in the fall, to be arranged by Creighton Prep.

Father Sullivan “drew his strength from the Eucharist and prayer,” the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus said in a memorial tribute.

The priest had referred to a Scripture passage, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, in expressing his gratitude to God:

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God Who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”

“We need to ask God to help us continue to lead from our strengths,” Father Sullivan had said. “The grace to be a part of so many families’ faith lives from baptism to burial has brought me the most satisfaction. I did not expect this when I started out. It has been grace upon grace.”

Father Sullivan was known among his fellow Jesuits as someone who loved Omaha and seemed to know nearly everyone there; who was passionate about politics and could name every member of Congress; who was humorous and a “model of humility.”

He was born in San Francisco and grew up in Omaha, graduating from Creighton Prep in 1962, the same year he entered the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus.

Father Sullivan was ordained a priest in 1975 at St. John Church on the Creighton University campus and made his final vows in 1983 at Creighton Prep.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and letters at St. Louis University, studied theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee and at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California, before earning a master’s of divinity in theology from Regis College in Toronto.

He earned his law degree from Creighton in 1981.

Father Sullivan taught in Milwaukee before taking a position at Creighton Prep. There he taught theology and history and was assistant to the president from 1975 to 1978 and president of the school from 1982 to 1988.

Father Sullivan worked for the Gregorian University Foundation in Rome, where he served as vice president and acting president. In 2006, he returned to Creighton Prep as an assistant to the president from 2006 to 2015.

Father Sullivan was preceded in death by his parents, George T. and Mary (Russell) Sullivan. Survivors include his brother, Gerard Sullivan, and many cousins.

Memorials were to be directed to Creighton Prep.